Jack Herer suffers heart attack

Jack Herer, author of cannabis classic The Emperor Wears No Clothes, was stricken by a minor heart attack and a stroke while giving a speech at the Bill Conde World Hemp Festival on July 15th in Eugene, Oregon.
Family members confirmed that the stroke had done considerable damage to Herer; initially, he was unable to speak, or move the right side of his body.

Herer was first treated at a Veteran's Administration hospital in Portland. Relatives were concerned that the hospital staff and doctors, governed by federal law which prohibits the use of medical marijuana, might prevent Herer from med-pot treatment.

But Herer's friends provided hopsital staff with scientific articles about marijuana's potential for preventing the cascading damage effects of a stroke, and were later able to discreetly remove Herer from direct hospital supervision so he could take a hit off a joint.

Several days after the stroke, Herer was able to make minor movements with his right arm and leg, but had failed to regain his ability to speak. Hospital officials have recommended that Herer be transferred to a stroke rehabilitation facility. Family members and friends are cautiously optimistic about Herer's chances for a full recovery.

"Everything happens for a reason," said Jeannie Herer, Jack's wife. "We have had the chance to educate doctors and nurses about medical marijuana, and we are being told by all the specialists that Jack is making incredible progress and is very likely, with intensive therapy, to fully recover normal function and return to the activism that he so loves."

Cannabis Culture magazine's next issue will feature an in-depth article about the Conde festival and Herer's recovery. We will also provide information about a fund being set up to help honor the man known as the "Emperor of Hemp."